Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

More Questions Emerge Regarding Standing Of King V. Burwell Plaintiffs

The Wall Street Journal reports that one of the challengers in this lawsuit, which questions the legality of using the health law's tax credits to purchase insurance via healthcare.gov, listed her address as a short-stay motel in Virginia. Other news outlets report on what segment of the population is most likely to lose coverage if the high court strikes down the tax credits and what ideas "beyond repeal and replace" are being floated around.

The Wall Street Journal:
New Questions Swirl On An Affordable Care Act Challenger
One of the plaintiffs in the Supreme Court case against the Affordable Care Act listed a short-term-stay motel as her address when she joined the lawsuit, potentially calling into question her basis for suing. Rose Luck is among four plaintiffs suing the Obama administration to eliminate tax credits under the law that make health insurance cheaper for millions of Americans. They say the wording of the 2010 law allows consumers to tap the credits only in states that run their own insurance exchanges, and not their home state of Virginia, which is one of as many as 37 states that use the federal enrollment system. (Radnofsky and Kendall, 2/9)

Stateline:
Employed White Southerners Most Likely To Lose Coverage In Supreme Court Case
If the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down tax credits for people buying health insurance on the federal exchange, about 8.2 million Americans in 34 states could lose their coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Most of the people likely to be affected are white, employed, and low- to middle-class. They also are concentrated in a single region of the country: the South. Health insurance rates in those states are expected to rise by as much as 35 percent, which may make coverage unaffordable even for those who don’t qualify for tax credits. (Ollove, 2/9)

Kaiser Health News:
Beyond ‘Repeal And Replace,’ Ideas Emerge To Improve, Simplify Health Law
"Repeal and replace” has been the rallying cry for Republicans since the Affordable Care Act was signed into law in 2010. But now that most of the law’s provisions have taken effect, some health experts are pitching ways to improve it, rather than eliminate it. An ideologically diverse panel at the National Health Policy Conference Monday presented somewhat different lists of ideas to make the law work better. But they all agreed on one thing: The Affordable Care Act is too complicated." (Rovner, 2/9)

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